Manchester United, Real Madrid top richest clubs [See top 20]

Manchester United have been named the highest revenue generating club in the world, after the 2016/2017 Deloitte Football Money League rankings were published.

It is the 10th time the Old Trafford club has come out as number one.

In the year in review, United earned an income of €676million (£581m).

United were awarded €44.5m in payments from UEFA for winning the Europa League last season.

Real Madrid is in second place, after they won the LaLiga title as well as the Club World Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and their second Champions League trophy in as many years. Their success led to the club generating €674.6m (£579.7m) of revenue.

The €1.7m margin between the two superclubs is the narrowest ever recorded.

Barcelona rank third in Money League with a revenue of €648.3m (£557.1m), with Bayern Munich (€587.8m/505.1m), and Manchester City (€527.7m/£453.5m) completing the top five.

“The Deloitte Football Money League has a particularly English feel this year and with the new broadcast deal and UEFA competition performance driving broadcast revenue growth of over half a billion pounds for those in the top 20, it doesn’t come as a surprise.

“As the Premier League is currently in the middle of its rights tender for the next cycle from 2019/20, the results of this will be crucial to determining the long term composition of the Money League,” Tim Bridge, senior manager in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, added: “European football continues to flourish financially, with almost half a billion Euro of revenue growth for the top 20 Money League clubs. And at the top, we’ve seen the closest ever battle for the top spot, with Manchester United pipping Real Madrid to retain their title of the highest revenue generating club in the world. United generated £581m in 2016/17.”